


Good Intentions

by twigglettz



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Picard
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Angst, But mostly fluff, Fluff, M/M, this ship is so Pure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:00:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23429617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twigglettz/pseuds/twigglettz
Summary: Elnor hadn’t meant to stare. He’d meant to climb into bed next to an already sleeping Hugh, pull the covers over his shoulders, and get some actual rest for the first time in over two days.
Relationships: Elnor/Hugh | Third of Five
Comments: 8
Kudos: 80





	Good Intentions

Elnor hadn’t meant to stare. He’d meant to climb into bed next to an already sleeping Hugh, pull the covers over his shoulders, and get some actual rest for the first time in over two days. He’d had to drag himself into the sonic shower beforehand, knowing full well that Hugh would only grumble and half-heartedly push him back out of bed if he’d tried to sneak in still covered in blood, and neither of them had the energy to play that game.

But when he’d walked into their bedroom, arms raised to tie his hair back, all thoughts of sleep had vanished at the sight. Hugh was sprawled face-down across the covers, shorts lying dangerously low on his hips, and Elnor had to stifle a smile at the fact that he hadn’t even made it under the sheets before passing out. He looked peaceful, hair tousled and limbs taking up far more than his half of the bed, but Elnor was way too tired to care.

It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen him like this before. In the days, weeks even, after what happened on the Borg cube, Elnor had spent more hours than he could count just staring at Hugh’s chest in the infirmary, following the soft rise and fall of his breathing. Terrified that if he looked away for even half a second, it would stop. It hadn’t, obviously, but it was a habit he’d never quite gotten rid of. He watched as the glint of the implants down Hugh’s spine moved in time with his soft snores, and felt his breathing slow to match his lover’s. 

He’d planned to get into bed then, pile as much of the comforter around Hugh as he could without waking him, and let sleep wash over him like a wave. But Hugh shifted slightly, head rolling to lay on his cheek, his right arm sliding up the sheets to rest where Elnor should be. In the dim light, he could just make out the sharp, jagged ridge of scar tissue in the human’s neck, and he swallowed hard to get rid of the lump that had appeared at the sight.

The first time he’d touched him, pulling the ex-B away from his fallen brothers, curling comforting fingers around the base of his skull, he’d almost gotten him killed. When Hugh had finally woken up, he’d reached out for Elnor, and the Romulan had pulled away like he’d been burned. He’d been afraid that it was his fault, that his fingerprints had tainted the human somehow, had marked him for death. After that, he’d done everything in his power to stay just out of arm’s reach, but close enough to watch over him, and it’d driven Hugh insane. 

“I’m starting to think you might be the real lost cause here.” The laughter in Hugh’s tone had matched the look in his eyes, and Elnor had been so in awe at the sight that he hadn’t seen him lean over to rest a hand on his own until it was too late. But the ship hadn’t crashed, and Hugh hadn’t keeled over, and when they’d both inched forward until their lips met, Elnor couldn’t remember why he’d ever thought that touching Hugh could be a bad thing. 

And he’d fully intended to sink into the sheets after that, haul Hugh’s arm over his waist and curl himself around the smaller man, letting the ex-B’s soft breathing lull him into unconsciousness. But Hugh had been awake even longer than he had, and the thought of accidentally waking him felt worse than all the sleep deprivation in the world. Hugh was a light sleeper anyway. After years of Borg regeneration alcoves, his circadian rhythm was almost non-existent, and the nightmares didn’t help either. But he was quiet for once, peaceful, and Elnor was happy to keep watch for a little while longer.

“Are you gonna stand there all night?” The question jolted Elnor out of his thoughts, and he was almost convinced he’d hallucinated it until Hugh had lazily patted the small square of mattress that he wasn’t coveting. Elnor let out a small chuckle as Hugh made no other attempt to move, and softly padded toward their bed. He didn’t have much room to manoeuvre, so when his knees finally sank into the mattress, he made sure to take advantage of the situation. Elnor’s palms skimmed up Hugh’s calves, thighs, fingers playfully dipping beneath the edge of his shorts. Lips trailing along the implants in his spine, tongue lapping against the scar tissue, placing soft kisses along the small patches of unmarked skin on his shoulder. Hugh had hummed in appreciation, and at any other time, Elnor would have taken it further, but neither of them were awake enough for that, so he let himself fall against the older man instead, half sprawled across his body. Hugh was forced to shift again, rolling onto his back, groaning in protest at having to move. Elnor had simply pressed his nose into the crook of Hugh’s neck, had breathed in his scent, and Hugh had wrapped sleepy limbs around his form, giving him a small sliver of space to stretch into, and Elnor had taken it.

And he certainly hadn’t meant to drift off almost immediately afterwards. He’d wanted to stay awake for a few more minutes, watch over Hugh as his breathing evened out and his muscles relaxed, wanted to make sure the nightmares stayed away. But Hugh’s skin was warm against the chill of the room, heartbeat audible where Elnor had rested his head, and every breath was another reminder that Hugh was still alive, still here. And more importantly, Elnor thought, closing his eyes and curling closer into Hugh’s side, he’d still be there in the morning.


End file.
